The St. John’s Anglican Church congregation will soon be singing the praises for a new roof on the old parish hall.

Workers began replacing the aging asphalt-shingle roof a couple of weeks ago with a new black steel roof.

The rector’s warden for the church, Mary Mellish, said the same contractor that replaced the roof on Marshall Memorial United Church on Fiddler’s GreenRoad is doing the work at St. John’s.

Mellish said the congregation appreciates the community’s response to the church’s fundraising efforts to help pay for its Roof Over-Hall campaign. Since it was launched in May, about $43,000 has been donated. About $2,200 was raised over a seven-week period with people purchasing baked goods from the Ancaster Farmers Market.

“People come every week for some of the baking, including the butter tarts,” said Mellish. “The community is being very supportive of our efforts.”

A hymn-a-thon, where the church’s director of music Ian Sadler played the first verse of 660 hymns, netted about $7,000 in donations. Mellish said the campaign goal, which is scheduled to continue into September, is $65,000.

She said the roof needed to be replaced because water was getting into the hall. Over the years, the roof, which was built in the 1950s, has received some upgrades, and replacements in spots.

As the church prepares to celebrate its bicentennial at its current Wilson Street site in 2016, Mellish said there are plans to begin improving the interior, including repairing the water damage caused by the leaking roof and doing some exterior work to tie the new and old parts of the structure together.

“We want to get the message out that St. John’s Anglican Church continues to be a great asset for the entire community,” said Mellish. “Anything the community wants to do, we would welcome their support.”